Ryu's mind re-entered his body. To the outside world, he seemed to be silently meditating, and since the crystalline jade was within his pupil's inner world, he didn't have to bring it out to enter either. No one would ever guess the kind of benefits he had just gained.
'I need a bit to fuse what my mind understands with my body, but it shouldn't take more than a few moments.'
Ryu's gaze turned to the once sleeping Ailsa. It seemed she had woken him up. When his senses turned toward the entrance of his ice cave, he realized that it was because Granny Miriam's younger sister Melody had come.
Reaching the entrance and activating the formation mechanism to slide the ice-stone slab open, Ryu greeted Melody and allowed her to enter. Seeing the panicked look in her eye, he understood that she must have heard what happened.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm just fine. After a few more days, it'll be like nothing happened at all. Don't worry about it."
Melody frowned. "I warned you about this… Being associated with our Awoken Moon Sect will only bring trouble to you. Although they don't dare to act against us directly for fear of the Faith we once held, you are a Throne and as such aren't protected by that Faith. You have to be more careful."
Ryu's brows raised. It seemed Melody thought the attack the cloaked figured levied upon him were related to the enemies of his Tatsuya Clan and their subordinate Clans.
He smiled inwardly. He wondered what Melody would think if she knew this would be his fight regardless of whether he joined the Awoken Moon Sect or not… Still, Ryu was fairly certain the cloaked figures weren't actually of that purpose. Or, maybe they were, but at the very least, it wasn't their only purpose. This event was more likely related to the matters surrounding Ailsa and her existence.
"Take this seriously." Melody's frown deepened, seeing Ryu's expression completely unchanged. "I can't be absolutely certain, but they match the description of an incredibly prosperous organization. I have no idea why they're hiding their identities, but that only makes it more certain they're up to no good."
'Likely because they don't want information about the Faerie Small World to leak.' Ryu thought to himself. He realized a few days ago that maybe the Martial Gods weren't the only ones who wanted a piece of his Shrine Realm. In that case, even the so-called Martial Gods had to watch their step lest they repeat the mistakes of the Tatsuya Clan.
This thought only clicked more firmly after the Steward's explanation… "What if our guild receives a mission to a Small Realm where entry is restricted by cultivation realm?"… Those had been his exact words. It couldn't have been more obvious even if they hit him over the head with it.
"I understand, thank you for the warning. I won't let them get the best of me."
Melody's shoulders fell in defeat. She was known as a cold, unapproachable beauty to many. But, before Ryu, she felt as hot as a summer's day. Did he have any emotions besides indifference?
'No… I saw a different emotion on him before… Was it anger?' Melody thought back to Ryu's Throne trial, wondering just what he could have been so angry about then…
Shaking her head, Melody got to the point. "I didn't come to only check on you, there are now matters coming in the future that are likely directly tied to this."
"Is that so?"
"Yes." Melody nodded. "It was just announced today. The selections of the Ice Devil Legacy World will now provide a Seeded reward."
"Seeded?"
"Yes. Before, our Pedestal Plane wasn't worthy of such a thing. We were essentially going to be used as the canon fodder and meat shields for Blossom Plane geniuses. In fact, the truth of the matter is that although the Legacy World is located on the Blossom Plane, even Martial Plane youths are interested in it. Those Martial Plane youths make up the bulk of the Seeded Geniuses. A select few of the Blossom Plane are within these ranks as well. And finally, our Pedestal Plane will be allocated just one."
Ryu sneered inwardly, immediately understanding. 'They want to lure me out? What an obvious ploy.'
"What's the benefit of being a Seeded Genius? Are we not all entering the same Legacy World? Such matters had always been every man and woman for themselves. And also, why would Sh – Martial Plane geniuses be interested in a Blossom Plane Legacy?"
Melody blinked. Could Ryu have experiencing entering Legacy Worlds?
Legacy Worlds were incredibly rare things. To begin, one had to be a certain level of expert to even think of forming one after your death. Such experts were incredibly rare and didn't often die. Meaning, there might only be a handful of Legacy Worlds to open per generation. Legacy Worlds that were overlooked and only found a long time later were rare exceptions. This would only happen if an expert sent their Legacy World to lower Realm for whatever reason they might have to do so.
"Ah." Melody shook herself from her thoughts. "Being a Seeded Genius has its advantages. For one, earlier entrance once the Legacy World enters. For such things, the order of entering is incredibly important.
"In addition, during a time one might vie for treasures, being Seeded also gives priority. Seeded Geniuses gain a percentage of the treasures found by individuals under their charge. Seeded geniuses also don't have to fight in the final tournament used to decide who gains entry. There are many other things that I'm not privy to knowing as well."
Ryu's internal sneer only deepened. Who had ever heard of something ridiculous? No one "owned" a Legacy World, so what gave them the right to take shares found by others? At the very least, if you were going to do so, don't shamelessly try to play it off as though you were working within proper protocol. Snatch it boldly and face the consequences.
'Martial Gods' indeed. These bastards were nothing but spineless cowards. Ryu felt his blood boil. These were the people his Tatsuya Clan lost to? He would wipe this humiliation clean.
"As for your second question, why Martial Plane geniuses would be interested, that's related to an open secret of the Ice Devil Legacy World… No one has ever heard of this 'Ice Devil' before. But, an expert capable of forming such a powerful Legacy World couldn't possibly be unknown… Therefore, many believe this Legacy World is either from an unknown Realm or… That it's among the rare few never discovered."